Hollywood’s obsession with beauty and youth is the central theme of Ari Folman’s new sci-fi movie. The Waltz With Bashir director has produced a scathing exploration of celebrity culture.
Adapted from Stanislaw Lem’s 1971 sci-fi novel, The Futurological Congress, the film stars Robin Wright as ‘herself’: a 40-something actress with two children, lashings of integrity – and no work. Desperate, she enters a Faustian pact with ‘Miramount’ studios to become an ‘upload’, so that her computer-scanned self will be forever Princess Bride-young, and star in countless blockbusters. You can appreciate the horrible logic of her decision.
She enters an acid-trip alternative universe – the Futurological Congress – where people drink potions to become who they want: Marilyn Monroe, Jesus, the robot from Metropolis. Gradually her grip on reality starts to slip – with predictably nightmarish consequences. Folman coaxes stunning performances from Wright, Harvey Keitel as her regret-filled agent, and Danny Huston as a manipulative studio executive with a Cheshire Cat grin. Alas, they are soon overwhelmed by the CGI and special effects – an irony to which Folman appears oblivious.